Rules for the Royal Game (P498293)

Game board excavated in Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar), dated to the ED I-II (ca. 2900-2700 BC) period and now kept in British Museum, London, UK

Cite

Photo (detail)

Museum Collection(s)

British Museum, London, UK

Museum Number

BM 120834

Period

ED I-II (ca. 2900-2700 BC)

Provenience

Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)

Artifact Type

Game board

Material(s)

Bone > Shell, Wood

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Language(s)

No linguistic content

Measurements

301.0 mm × 110.0 mm × 24.0 mm

Text content

Genre(s)
Language(s)	No linguistic content

Chronology

Period	ED I-II (ca. 2900-2700 BC)
Dates Referenced
Accounting Period

Record

CDLI number	P498293
LOD URI	https://cdli.network/entity/P498293

Physical information

board game

Artifact type	Game board board game
Dimensions	301.0 mm × 110.0 mm × 24.0 mm
Weight
Material(s)	Bone > Shell, Wood
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience	Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number	U 09000
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s)	British Museum, London, UK
Museum Number	BM 120834
Accession Number	1928-10-09, 0378

External resources

External Resource	Identifiers
British Museum Collection (BM)	W_1928-1009-378

References

primary: Rules for the Royal Game

[Finkel2007Rules] Finkel, Irving L. 2007. “On the Rules for the Royal Game of Ur.” Edited by Irving L. Finkel. Ancient Board Games in Perspective. Papers from the 1990 British Museum Colloquium, 16–32.
history: Board games and fortune telling

[Finkel1995BoardGames] Finkel, Irving L. 1995. “Board Games and Fortune Telling.” Edited by Alexander J. de Voogt. New Approaches to Board Games Research: Asian Origins and Future Perspectives, 64–72.
history: UE 2, p. 276, pl. 95b

[Woolley1934UE2] Woolley, C. Leonard. 1934. The Royal Cemetery: A Report on the Predynastic and Sargonic Graves Excavated between 1926 and 1931. Ur Excavations, vol. 2.

Revisions and credits

Created	Creator	Type	Authors	Project	Reviewer	Status	Action
2026-03-08 at 08:53:02	Pagé-Perron, Émilie	Artifact metadata	Pagé-Perron, Émilie; Rattenborg, Rune		Pagé-Perron, Émilie	Approved
2016-05-14 at 00:00:00	CDLI, CDLI	Artifact metadata	CDLI, CDLI		CDLI, CDLI	Approved

Cite this Artifact

“Rules for the Royal Game Artifact Entry.” (2016) 2026. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). March 8, 2026. https://cdli.earth/P498293.

Rules for the Royal Game artifact entry (No. P498293). (2026, March 8). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P498293 (Original work published 2016)

Rules for the Royal Game artifact entry (2026) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P498293 (Accessed: October 8, 2026).

@misc{2026Rules,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-08]},
	year = {2026},
	month = {mar 8},
	title = {Rules for the {Royal} {Game} artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P498293},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P498293},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2026/3/8/
PY  - 2026
ID  - P498293
LB  - CDLI:P498293
M1  - 2026/10/8/
TI  - Rules for the Royal Game artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P498293
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“Rules for the Royal Game Artifact Entry.” (2016) 2026. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). March 8, 2026. https://cdli.earth/P498293.

Rules for the Royal Game artifact entry (No. P498293). (2026, March 8). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P498293 (Original work published 2016)

Rules for the Royal Game artifact entry (2026) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P498293 (Accessed: October 8, 2026).

@misc{2026Rules,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-08]},
	year = {2026},
	month = {mar 8},
	title = {Rules for the {Royal} {Game} artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P498293},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P498293},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2026/3/8/
PY  - 2026
ID  - P498293
LB  - CDLI:P498293
M1  - 2026/10/8/
TI  - Rules for the Royal Game artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P498293
ER  -